𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

(The conference season will start soon so that these tips may help you)

1. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀: networking, getting knowledge, finding collaborators, or reconnecting with current ones?
2. 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 to get significant discounts on tickets, flights, and better rooms.
3. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱/𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿. Use that to visit the city, meet old pals in the industry, or forge new partnerships.
4. 𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽, 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. If not, follow social media and see who is coming.
5. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 to see what sessions you want to attend, what sponsor to visit, and what speakers you want to get in touch with.
6. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 in the industry.
7. 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 for the relaxing, smoking, or food area? "How is this conference going for you so far?" will do the job.
8. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 send a short message about who you are and what you do and take a picture together. It will help both of you know who is who.
9. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟰𝟴 - 𝟳𝟮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 to get the attention spot of the other party. After that, the response rate decreases quite a lot.
10. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 How did it work? What do you think can be improved? Use this feedback to do even better next time.

What about you? Which one is your favorite? Also, can you add something to the list? Please do!